During excavations in Novgorod, scientists from the Institute of Archeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences discovered a birch bark letter of the 14th century. This was reported on October 1 by the press service of the institute.
The letter speaks of the movement and potential of a certain military detachment, which, perhaps, was supposed to collect tribute in the northwestern territories of Russia. It mentions “rati”, which goes through Zavolochye or Volchok – the region of the Northern Dvina and Onega basin to the east of Lake Onega.
The diploma is already the tenth in a row, found in the archaeological meson of 2020 in Novgorod.
As explained by the deputy director of the Institute of Archeology, Petr Gaidukov, whose words are given in the press release, the letter was written and sent, most likely, from Zavolochye, located on the territory of the modern Vologda and Arkhangelsk regions.
“It is known that this was a fishing region, rich in fur animals, where the Novgorodians went on hikes for furs, for tribute. The found letter, perhaps, will allow us to better know the details of interaction between Novgorod and this distant region of the Novgorod land, ”the archaeologist noted.
The charter can be tentatively dated to the third quarter of the 14th century, since next to it was the seal of the Novgorod mayor Yuri Ivanovich, who held this post in 1354-1380.
Earlier in September, a treasure of 126 silver scale coins from the last quarter of the 16th century was discovered in Pskov. The coins were handed over to the restorers. They will be cleared and preserved, after which they will be attached to the archaeological funds of the museum-reserve.